[Ed Moxley]

It bugs me really bad to think that we've dumbed down so much. Or is it that people just don't care? Do our schools not teach the difference anymore?

It appears to me that people just don't know the difference, in the meanings of quite a few words, in the english language. Not talking about folks who are from non-english speaking lands. Here are the main examples I'm talking about:

There, Their, They're
Here, Hear
Want, Won't
To, Too, Two
Sell, Sale
Then, Than
Your You're
No, Know

I see these words used in the wrong context, all the time, from people that otherwise seem to be educated. Why is this?

[Jason Kirkpatri]

My guess - text messaging and spell check.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ocabulary.html

[Brad Porter]

I'm more bothered by

"loose" vs "lose"
"would of" vs "would've"

or most especially when people type a word with a spelling that isn't clear to them and they only follow it up with (sp?). Generally, the correct spelling of that word is easily determined, and they've already admitted to themselves that they don't have any confidence in their own attempt to spell it. Why not take the minor effort to get it right rather than propagate the error into the forum?


Brad

[Joseph DeMartino]

Quote:

I see these words used in the wrong context, all the time, from people that otherwise seem to be educated. Why is this?

Because they sound alike, and since most of us "say" what we're typing in our heads as we go, sometimes the wrong word comes out of our fingertips. It isn't a matter of not knowing the difference, it is sometimes just a matter of us typing the version of a sound that we're most used to typing. Spell check won't find such errors, of course, and proof-reading can be tricky. I'm an excellent proof-reader - of other people's stuff. With my own I tend to read what I meant to write - even mentally filling in missing words - unless I set it aside for a few days and come back to it "cold". Add in the fact that people are less careful about casual communication like web-posting and even less careful about things they are quickly typing stuff like this at work (like while waiting for a network diagnostic to finish running or a program to install on a PC under remote control - speaking strictly hypothetically, of course ) and it isn't surprising that this sort of thing happens. I know I'm guilty sometimes, despite my best efforts to catch such mistakes.

Regards,

Joe

[DaveF]

This also frustrates me. Especially because reading it too much causes it to seep into my brain and damage my spelling.

The reasons are simple: they are homonyms, people aren't generally good spellers, and forums/email are quickly written with no proof reading.. I don't think it's a youth-text-messaging thing. Wise elders seem to have just as much trouble -- sometimes even more so.

[cafink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad Porter

"would of" vs "would've"

This one drives me absolutely insane.

[Chris Lockwood]

> The reasons are simple: they are homonyms, people aren't generally good spellers, and forums/email are quickly written with no proof reading..

What about all the other places people make these mistakes and the fact that these mistakes were much less common years ago, when adults were expected to be able to write their native language correctly?

[KurtEP]

I attribute it to the rise of TV and other entertainment like it more than the internet. To be able to write or spell correctly, you have to know what good writing and spelling looks like. People don't read as much as they used to, so they probably don't really know what words should look like. I'm sure that there are plenty of other factors, too.

[BrianW]

I here ya shure there righting should of ben better then that but I want get hung upon it even through I no better. No what I mean

[Russell G]

It amazes me to no end that this gets under peoples skin. If those type of mistakes make it impossible for you to understand an email or something, then perhaps your the one that requires more education.